A Star for Everyone: Epiphany, the Magi, and Our Call to Belong to Each Other
/This story of the magi coming from the East to visit the child Jesus is so familiar that it’s almost hard to look at it with new eyes, so I had to get really intentional about trying to see it anew.
And when I looked at it closely, I noticed a few things:
It doesn’t say there are three magi and it doesn’t say they’re kings; it doesn’t even say they’re men.
There are no camels in the reading from Matthew, but there are camels in the First Reading from Isaiah (so if you have camels in your nativity scene like we do, I think they can stay there. Just because it doesn’t say they’re there doesn’t mean they weren’t.)
And lastly, I don’t think this story is really about the drama at all – Herod, and fancy magi and their unique gifts – but about something deeper.
My attention has always been so fixed on the kings and their drama that I haven’t thought a lot about what it means to have these exotic magi, who are most certainly Gentiles, come and seek out this little Jewish baby.
However, when I look at it with Second Reading from Ephesians about Christ coming to be with the Gentiles, I see that, at its heart, this story could really be about belonging. These mysterious strangers come all the way from the East, wherever that is, following a star, whatever that is, to come and behold this child. To me this shows the big picture impact of Christ’s birth. It wasn’t just for the shepherds abiding in that region. It wasn’t just for the people of Jerusalem or Galilee. He wasn’t just for the Jews or people in the Middle East. He was and is for all people, and thus, all people belong to him and through him.
In this age, where everything is divided, it’s hard to remember that. And when things are so divided and contentious in the Middle East, as they have been for so long, and the divisions bring bloodshed, and Israel, who is supposed to rise in splendor, is instead committing acts of violence, it’s hard to see the belonging of all people to each other. But it is so. The baby Jesus was born into a world of conflict and division, and here we still are. His coming was needed then and just as needed now.
I wonder if this feast offers us an invitation to enter more deeply into that sense of belonging to each other. All of us could do better at rising in splendor to be the people God created us to be. If a group of magi showed up at my door, camels or not, with weird gifts to let me know that Christ belongs to all of us and all of us belong to each other, well . . . actually, through this story, that is what’s happening. The magi are showing up in our lives and showing us how Christ is for all of us.
The thing is, division doesn’t always look like warfare. It can also look like exclusion. It can look like tending to our own and turning our backs on our neighbors. It can look like selfishness and greed. And we are meant to be better than that. I think that’s the epiphany – the recognition that Christ is for each of us, is with each of us, and we are called to extend a warmer welcome to each other.
If we allow it, God in the form of a tiny, vulnerable infant can show us how to be more like Christ. How will we respond to this call?
For Reflection:
From these readings and this Feast of the Epiphany, what resonates with you?
Is there anything that challenges you or gives you pause?
Does this reading offer you a call or an invitation from God? Maybe you could talk it over with God and see what God has to say to you.
By Sister Leslie Keener, CDP
Sister Leslie Keener, CDP is the director of God Space, a vibrant spirituality ministry building community in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. A Sister of Divine Providence, she holds a Master’s in Ministry and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and Retreats from Creighton University. Sister Leslie guides retreats, offers spiritual direction, and nurtures vocations within her community. Passionate about helping people encounter God in everyday life, she delights in meaningful conversations, dancing, and spicy food along the way.